AN: Whew. We are at the end. There is only an epilogue left. Thank you for your patience. My alpha and betas were very busy the last few weeks but we finally got the chapter done! :) A very special thank you to the readers who've stuck with me through covid, delays, and writer's block. You are the best. Thanks to my alpha: LaDeeDaa and my beta: AStrangefan
Redemption
"He's not stupid, Hermione," Harry reasoned, but he was pulling on his shoes anyway.
"He's not stupid, but he's also not always rational," Hermione insisted. "Just hurry up!"
Harry grabbed his wand off the coffee table and took Hermione's hand in his Apparating them immediately to the St. Mungo's back entrance. It was where the added ward was located. "Did you floo Padma?"
"Yes, she's on her way now," Hermione answered impatiently. Why did it take Harry Potter an eternity to tie his bloody shoes?
Hermione led the way up the stone stairs of the back of the building and looked to Harry to undo the wards, which he did in record time.
"Wait!" It was Padma running up the stairs behind them. "He's not with Dolohov. I've had it checked. He's with Lucius."
Lucius. Hermione felt a sense of shame, actually. Why had her first instinct been to assume Draco was up to something bad? She let out a long breath and nodded. "Fine," she said.
"Keep me posted, please," she added, looking back at Padma. "I shouldn't have assumed…"
"It's exactly where I thought he was going," Padma admitted. "He's made no secret that he wants Dolohov dead. I'm almost entirely sure security would stop him - he's only able to see Lucius because he's his heir." Padma left unsaid what would have happened to Draco if security had intercepted him trying to kill Dolohov.
Hermione nodded. "Thanks, Pads," she said with a sad smile. She turned back to Harry. "I suppose I can just go home."
Harry offered her his arm, "Let me take you back," he said. "Or I can wait with you if you like."
She accepted his arm but shook her head. "No," she said. "I think I have to learn to be comfortable letting go of him a little."
"It's not one of your strong suits," Harry pointed out with a grin.
She snorted. "No, I suppose not."
"We will all be okay, you know," Harry said, stopping before they reached the apparition point. "We can manage without you - though, admittedly, we do a better job of it with you."
Hermione sighed, "I don't know if I can manage without you," she whispered into the air before kissing him lightly on the cheek and apparating home.
Draco didn't come home that night, but he did send a note by way of a Gringotts' owl.
I'll be away for a few days. I'm safe. Do not worry about me.
Draco
Hermione threw the note down on the kitchen island in front of her.
Not worry? The man had been incarcerated in some form for nearly six years. There were people around every corner who wanted him dead. He was a bloody moron if he thought she wouldn't be worried.
"Hermione, he's perfectly capable," Theo reminded her. "Draco's been taking care of himself for a long time now."
Hermione wanted to argue, but didn't have it in her.
"It's good for him," Theo added. "I'm sure he'll be back soon and will tell you all about it."
Bloody well better, she thought to herself.
"Granger, he's not a child. Maybe this is how things go with those two Gryffindor who followed you around like lost puppies, but Draco is a grown man who can take care of himself. You are his girlfriend, not his mother. Stop molly-coddling him," Pansy said with an exasperated huff.
"I'm not molly-coddling…" Hermione tried to defend but Pansy shook her head and cut her off.
"You are. Draco's been through a lot. He's trying to show you he is independent, and you are acting put out like a mum whose child just discovered he could break the rules. Let him be. If he needs you, he will come to you," she explained, her tone suggesting that she didn't want to hear any more about it.
Hermione conceded. She didn't want to come off like an overbearing mother. But this was how she cared for her people - she didn't know any other way.
"Fine," she finally said. "I'm going to bed."
"One thing," Pansy said, shooing a reluctant Theo out of the room. "Go on. I'll be upstairs in a minute."
Hermione steeled herself for whatever more criticisms Pansy had. She gripped the edge of the island, waiting for whatever - probably horrible - thing Pansy had to say to her.
"You are insufferably self-righteous, annoyingly patronizing, and I haven't the first fucking clue what Draco Malfoy sees in you," Pansy began.
Wonderful. "I'm so glad I stuck around for this conversation. I'm going to bed," Hermione replied, moving to leave the room, but Pansy stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Wait," Pansy said, her tone softer. "I tell you all that so that you know I'm disinclined to blow smoke up your arse like nearly everyone you know does, Granger."
Hermione sighed again, but she stopped and went back to her place at the island, willing to listen again.
"Regardless of your personality - which I find distasteful - and the fact that I do not understand why people worship the very ground you walk on, Draco has chosen you." Pansy crossed her arms over her chest and paused a moment before continuing. "You are the person he wants, and I love Draco. So, I will come to tolerate and perhaps even like you - maybe."
Hermione snorted, but she wasn't offended. Pansy was a straight shooter, which she did actually appreciate.
"I want to give you advice, and because it's coming from me you can be sure that I'm not telling you what you want to hear, I'm giving you advice that I actually think will benefit Draco," Pansy continued.
Hermione motioned for her to continue.
"You need to take that job in Geneva. Britain is a lost cause, Granger. I don't know. Maybe there's hope - I know these reforms sound nice. But I hear the rumblings from people on the streets. Even if this new policy of reason and empathy is embraced by most - the louder faction hates it. They are being fed hatred through the papers and by opportunists within the Ministry. It's only a matter of time before the reactionaries make things absolutely miserable again. If there is any chance of saving this Merlin-be-damned country or the people in it, it's going to come from the people like you who actually believe in it trying."
Hermione let out a long breath. She hadn't been expecting that.
"Draco needs…" She started, but Pansy's eyes hardened and she cut her off again.
"Draco needs to learn how to be Draco again. He needs his confidence and his independence back. And when his probation ends, he can come to Geneva and the two of you can be as disgusting in Switzerland as you have been here for weeks," Pansy said.
"This isn't just about you," she went on. "Draco will allow you to baby him, just as he allowed his mother, and it won't serve him. He needs to do things on his own. He needs to find whatever he considers redemption without having you to thank for it," Pansy explained.
Hermione realised in that moment, Pansy was absolutely right. She wanted to argue, wanted to make counter points, but all of those consisted of variations of "I don't want to leave him."
"You don't have to thank me, Granger. I'm doing this for Draco," Pansy said.
She really is in love with her own voice. Hermione let out a frustrated huff.
"I'm not planning to thank you," Hermione countered. "You make a valid case. But this is about more than just Draco."
"Oh, yes. Your friends," Pansy replied sarcastically. "Every one of them would tell you exactly what I'm telling you. The selflessness of your lot is nauseating. That doesn't make them wrong. Granger, there is nothing for you here but people, and portkeys are cheap."
Hermione didn't know why but her eyes began to well up. Until that moment she hadn't let herself really think about how much she wanted the job - really wanted it.
"Merlin's sake," Pansy sighed. "Don't cry."
"No, I'm fine," Hermione sniffed. "I…Thank you, Pansy."
Pansy just shrugged.
A few days turned out to be three, and by the time Draco apparated into her garden, Hermione had worried her lip nearly raw waiting for him.
She was in the kitchen again. This time trying to put together something that resembled English breakfast. Pansy and Theo had been planning a trip to see her mother in France, but they'd been waiting for Draco to come back. Hermione knew it was because they didn't want to leave her alone. It was kind of sweet, actually. Presently, they were at the Ministry securing an international portkey permit for Theo.
Hermione nearly dropped the skillet when she saw him through the window, walking toward the back porch. When he entered the back door, she lunged into his awkwardly open arms nearly knocking him over. He grunted and then snorted a laugh as his arms came around her and he pulled her in, smelling the top of her head as he always did when she hugged him.
She pulled back and smacked him lightly on the arm. "I was worried about you, you prat!" she accused.
Draco's lips quirked into a small smile and he pulled back. "I had to do some things, Hermione. I'll tell you all about it, but first I have to fix whatever you've burned…" he pointed toward the smoking skillet and Hermione caught a whiff. She'd never turned off the burner.
Draco made quick work of vanishing the destroyed food with his wand and cleaning the skillet as he opened the fridge and began cooking. If she went to Switzerland, she'd surely starve without him.
Speaking of…
"Draco, I …" she began but he cut her off with a shake of the head.
"We'll talk. Let's just eat first." She nodded in agreement and watched him finish up breakfast in less than half the time it normally took her. With two plates in front of them, they sat side by side at the island and Hermione waited for him to start.
"Hermione, you were right," Draco finally began. "I have been depending on you too much…"
"That's not what I said!" she interjected, cutting him off.
"I know it's not what you said," Draco replied patiently. "But it was essentially the truth. I've been letting you face the world so that I didn't have to. It was cowardly, and I'm sorry."
"I never minded any of that," Hermione explained. "I know how hard it is for you."
"Yes, but I need to do it," Draco pointed out. "My mind healer has been on me for weeks about it. This job, you needing to go to the continent, it was the push I needed to do things I've been putting off for too long."
Hermione's curiosity was getting the better of her. "What things?" she finally asked.
"I went to see my father," Draco explained. "Firstly, I wanted to see what shape he was in. He's not well, by the way. Secondly, I wanted to find out just how much of the Malfoy assets and estate he'd manage to squander."
Hermione hadn't thought of that. She knew the ministry had taken ownership of Malfoy Manor and that it was essentially useless given the level of Dark Magic that had infused itself into the very foundation of the property. But she hadn't considered that Malfoy might still maintain some economic independence. "And?" she prompted.
"Well, there isn't much. The Manor and lands are irredeemable - as you know - Mother is technically owed monetary restitution for the land. I've spoken with the Ministry and we've agreed to a sum. It will keep her comfortable for the rest of her life. As for the assets, the ones that Father squirrelled away to Switzerland, France, and Romania are still there. The Ministry couldn't find them. According to the goblins at Gringotts, I can have the funds consolidated and transferred into an account with them," Draco summed up.
"That's great!" Hermione cried. "It gives you flexibility to find out what you want to do next!"
Draco nodded absently. Hermione got the feeling that wasn't what he really wanted to do. "Hermione, I will be fine. I can keep my nose clean, follow all the rules, finish this probationary period and be free. But I can't live with myself if I'm the reason you don't take that job."
It was her turn to say all the things she'd been thinking about over the last several days. She took a deep breath, "Draco, I'm going to take the job." It felt like a huge weight off her chest saying it out loud. "I want you, Pansy, Theo, and Narcissa to stay here for as long as you need to. Let this be your safe space to figure out what you want and what you need. Then, when your probation is finished, we can talk about where we stand and if you want to come to Switzerland to be with me…"
"Oh, I'm going to Switzerland," Draco confessed, taking her hand in his. "When I'm fully free, I'm finding my mother the most beautiful home she can afford in Southern France, along the coast, and I'm getting out of this Merlin-forsaken country and running to you - wherever you are. There is no question about that. Until then? We floo. You portkey. You get me one of those insufferable mobile fellytones and we make it through a year. It's one year. I've done more than five in hell. I can take one in a long distance relationship."
Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears as she pulled him close, kissing him soundly on the mouth. "Thank you, Draco," she breathed against him. "I'm scared," she admitted.
"You can do anything, Hermione Granger. Literally, anything," Draco breathed back.
Hermione felt excited butterflies in her stomach as she sent an official post owl off on his journey with her signed contract of employment. Stellar and her new boss had both been elated at her Floo call to confirm her intent to join them. She was nervous but more excited, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.
"Someone looks happy," she stiffened as she heard a man's voice behind her. She never could tell what kind of greeting she'd get in public. From thumbs up, and warm wishes to 'fuck you, you traitorous bitch'—it ran the gamut.
She turned slowly and was relieved to see a smiling Oliver Wood standing there holding a package. "Hi, Oliver!" she greeted, happy to see it was a friend and not a foe. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I have a post box here for deliveries. My neighbour is a nosey thief," Oliver explained. Hermione snorted a laugh at that.
"Sorry to hear that," she replied.
"What about you?" Oliver asked. "International Owl I noticed."
Hermione smiled politely. He was being nosey but she didn't mind. "Actually, I'm sure it will be in the papers any day anyway - I've taken a position in Geneva with the International Human Rights Commission - Wizarding Division."
"Merlin, Hermione, that's great!" Oliver said, and his eyes sparkled with genuine happiness for her. It made her smile wider. She really hoped he found the right girl one day. He was a gem of a man.
There was an awkward silence before he continued. "I'm on your side, you know."
"Excuse me?" she didn't know exactly what he was referring to.
"The reforms, the new trials," he explained. "It seems to me the people most adamant that we not extend compassion to the other side were people who couldn't be arsed to fight in the War to begin with, don't you think?"
Hermione smiled again. "Yeah, I have noticed that trend."
"Well, I agree with you. What kind of society are we saving if we can't practise compassion even when it is hard?"
"You are absolutely right, Oliver," Hermione agreed with a nod. "It was great seeing you again. Don't be a stranger. You will always be welcome in our circle. Don't be shy."
"Thanks, Hermione," Oliver replied with a smile before moving past her and out the door.
"Wait, what?" Hermione asked, shaking her head. She felt like she missed some pieces of the conversation.
"Married, Granger. Keep up," Pansy replied in a bored tone.
"Married," she repeated. "Tomorrow."
"Yes, Hermione. They are going to get married tomorrow at the Ministry. It's not a riddle," Draco said with a laugh.
She turned to Theo who had been the one to sit her and Draco down and tell them the news.
"It's going to be so small. We are just getting it legally done. There aren't that many people for us to celebrate with anyway," Theo said. He tried to make that last line sound like a joke, but it made Hermione frown.
"Pansy and I will go to the Ministry. We'd like you and Draco to come. Draco will be my best man. Pansy has asked Daphne Greengrass to be her maid of honour. She's coming in from France tomorrow morning. I've also asked Harry and Ron to be there. Pansy's mother isn't feeling up to travel, but we plan to visit her in France afterward for a honeymoon," Theo explained.
"Isn't this a bit…sudden?" Hermione asked.
Pansy frowned, but said nothing. Theo answered instead, "Yes and no. I've loved Pansy nearly my whole life. I have lost years of my life and I don't plan on losing any more."
Hermione thought about it. He did have a point. After everything, did he really need to go through the process of a long engagement? And who was she to judge? If Draco asked her to marry him tomorrow she wouldn't have hesitated.
"Well, of course I'll be there," Hermione finally said, a smile creeping up her lips. "I am happy for you - for you both," she insisted.
"You just worry," Theo supplied, a warm smile on his face. "We know."
"It's insufferable," Pansy muttered under her breath. Hermione pretended to ignore it.
After their wedding, Theo and Pansy decided they needed to officially have their own place. Hermione would be leaving for Switzerland soon and no matter how much she assured them they could stay in her house, they insisted they needed their own. Theo had some money from his estate and he set about trying to find the perfect place.
At the same time, Hermione and Draco were having conversations about what he would do when she was gone. She'd insisted he and his mother stay in her house. It was pointless to waste his money - and his mother's money - trying to find housing when there was a perfectly good house for them to live in.
Draco agreed, but he insisted on paying rent which Hermione found utterly ridiculous. She had more money than she could spend in two lifetimes. But to appease him, she agreed to a small amount that she planned to sock away in an account and refuse to touch.
Narcissa was doing better. She was able to be much more independent with each passing appointment with the mind healer and Hermione could tell how relieved that made Draco. He didn't want his mother's life to be over. He didn't want her to be frail and forgetful forever. She was barely fifty. She, potentially, had a hundred years ahead of her.
Draco's mental health improved too. He still only went out when necessary - the bad interactions in public affected him worse than they did Hermione - but he was able to navigate the world again. His mind healer had encouraged him to find a purpose, something to do with his time, and he'd been brainstorming what, exactly, that might be. Hermione was excited to see what he might land on.
Meanwhile, she had to pack up her life and prepare herself for an international move. It was relatively easy work. The IHRC had handled everything in Geneva. She'd be moving into a beautiful, fully furnished flat. She need only bring herself, her clothes, and any personal effects she might want. But deciding what to bring was proving harder than she thought it would be.
The night before her departure, Harry and Parvati threw her a Going Away Party at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The place was packed with people, including Katie Bell who had not only shown up to the event, but had offered Draco the chance to apologise to her in person - an apology she accepted. The relief nearly knocked Draco to his knees. Hermione held his hand tight as she pulled Katie into a tight hug with her other arm. It was one person, but it was everything.
By the end of the night everyone had laughed, cried, and wished Hermione well, and she sent Draco home while Harry and Ron stayed behind.
"This is it," Harry said, awkwardly. Parvati had gone up to bed for the night.
"It feels surreal." Hermione admitted. "I've not been away from either of you longer than a few months in the summer for almost fifteen years."
"And you won't now," Ron pointed out. "Portkeys, Hermione."
"I know," she sighed. "But…"
"You are going to be great," Harry said, taking her hand in his. "You are going to save us all, again, but from Geneva. We need you."
Hermione sniffled.
"We are going to come there too," Ron pointed out. "We want you to show us around your new city."
"I will," Hermione promised, but the tears had already started.
"Oh, Hermione," Ron whined. "I hate when you cry."
"I know," she sniffled.
Ron wrapped an arm around her while Harry pulled her close from the other side. "I love you guys," she said.
"Love you too," they both agreed in unison.
"Go fix human rights," Ron said, in the way of a pep talk. She snorted at that.
"We will be here for you any time," Harry added.
She hugged them both tight and kissed them both on the cheek before apparating home.
When she got there, the house was dark and quiet. "Draco?" she called.
"He's upstairs," Narcissa's voice came from the kitchen and nearly gave Hermione a heart attack.
She clutched her chest and took a deep breath.
"Sorry to startle you, dear," Narcissa said with a small smile. "I was just making some tea. Didn't want to turn all the lights in the house on."
"That's fine," Hermione said. "I just didn't see you there."
"I assumed," Narcissa said. After a beat, she continued. "I'm happy for you, Hermione."
"Thank you," Hermione blushed.
"I think Draco's waiting for you," Narcissa said.
"Of course," Hermione said. "Enjoy your tea."
Narcissa nodded and sipped from the tea cup, her focus back on the table in front of her.
Hermione wasted no time as she rushed into the hall and then up the stairs. "Draco!" she called again.
"In here," he called from their bedroom. When she walked inside she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, brooding face," Hermione commented. "Are you okay?"
Draco forced a smile. "I'm fine," he lied.
"Oh, love," Hermione breathed, sitting next to him on the bed and taking his face into her hands. "It's okay to not be fine. I'm not fine."
"I want you to go. I'm proud of you and I want you to do everything you want to do, but bloody hell, I'm going to miss you," Draco admitted.
"I'm going to miss you too," Hermione replied against his lips. She kissed him gently and pulled back. "I'll probably come home every weekend."
"I don't want you to do that either," Draco admitted. "I want you to have your life."
"You are my life," she confessed.
"Hermione," he nearly moaned before turning toward her and capturing her lips in his.
His hands were in her hair and hers moved to his shoulders as he moved them up the bed and pressed her against the mattress. What started desperate turned tender as Hermione felt Draco slow himself down, taking his time as he peeled her clothing off and kissed every inch of her body, worshipping her.
"As much as I will miss you," he breathed against her skin as he moved down her torso, "I'm so fucking proud of you."
Hermione wiggled beneath him, begging him to move lower with needy moans.
"You are amazing, Granger," he continued, his hot breath against her trembling thighs. And then he feasted on her like she was his last meal. Her hands carded through his hair as she rode the waves of her orgasm until her legs shook and she thought she couldn't take anymore.
But she could. As Draco moved up her body she flipped them around and sat astride him, rubbing his hard length between her legs before letting him enter her. She gasped as he filled her and his hands on her hips guided their rhythm.
When she came undone again he followed close behind and she collapsed upon his chest, their hearts beating in tandem against each other, chest to chest.
"I can't believe this is real. Still." Draco finally said after the panting subsided.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, flipping her hair out of her face to look at him.
"My life was a mess. My whole life - even in the good times - I was a mess. A spoiled brat, completely self-centred. Then things went topsy-turvy. I made all the wrong choices. And yet, I still got you. I'm here, twenty-three going on twenty-four and I'm happy. I still don't think I deserve it."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Well, do you think I deserve it?" Hermione asked, propping her head up on her hand.
"What?" he asked, confused.
'Do you think I deserve happiness?' she asked again.
"Of course," Draco answered, looking at her like she was crazy.
"You make me happy. Case closed," Hermione said with a small shrug of her shoulders.
"Fair enough," Draco replied, leaning up to kiss her lightly on the lips. "I suppose if I'm your prize for all the good you've done for this world, I'll do my best not to fuck that up."
Hermione grinned. "Good."
'Besides,' he added, 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner.'
Hermione threw her head back and cackled. Draco grinned down at her, proud of himself as if making her laugh was the thing he lived for. Maybe it was.
When she woke to catch her portkey to Geneva she left him sleeping in the bed, unwilling to put him through another goodbye. Besides, she'd already booked her return trip from Geneva for the next weekend.